Professor Ravinder Dahiya, an electrical engineer at the University of Glasgow, along with his colleagues has developed an electronic, self-powered robotic surface that is more sensitive to touch than a human hand. According to Dahiya, the robotic surface can be used in prosthetic limbs for people, as well as more natural-feeling robots covered in soft-skinned bodies.

This skin is made of a single atomic layer of graphene, and it needs 20 nano-watts of power per square centimeter to operate. Since a solar panel is located just beneath the surface of the graphene layer, as much as 98 percent of the sunlight is absorbed by the solar cells, which generates power to be used to get the sensitivity.

Not only this, the transparent spin-coated graphene layer could be sewn into clothing, turning a pair of yoga pants into a highly accurate sweat sensor.

The best part is that Professor Dahiya is currently developing a low-cost 3-D printed prosthetic hand equipped with the skin, which will cost around $350 (excluding the labor cost), a price that is tens of thousands of dollars cheaper and affordable!